A WOMAN suffered serious facial and internal injuries after an alleged attack and rape in Chester, a court heard.

Mark Caunce, of Victoria Road, Buckley, a trainee chef at the Queen Hotel in the city, is accused of rape, sexual assault and causing grievous bodily harm to a 30-year-old woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons.

Caunce, 21, denies the charges which relates to an alleged attack in the Foregate Street area of Chester in the early hours of Sunday, July 26, 2009.

Chester Crown Court heard the victim suffered a three-inch internal tear, a broken nose, a fracture to the eye socket and the cheek bone, multiple bruises to the head and face, bruising around neck, a blow to the head and cuts inside her mouth.

Prosecuting, David Potter said the woman had been drinking heavily. She left Cruise nightclub at about 1.30am and headed to a taxi rank on Foregate Street.

It is believed she first encountered Caunce on Foregate Street and the pair were witnessed kissing in the street.

CCTV footage showed them going into the entrance to flats.

Caunce admitted entering the car park of Parker’s Buildings, off Foregate Street, with the victim.

He admitted sexual intercourse and sexual intimacy with her, but said all activity was consensual.

He said at the end he had a fit of conscience about having intercourse with a stranger when he had a girlfriend at home.

He struck out in temper at the floor and may have caught the victim’s head once in the process but denied causing the other injuries.

Mr Potter said by the time the victim saw Caunce she was incapable of forming reasonable consent to sex.

He said: “The level of extreme violence demonstrates the level of force Mark Caunce needed to use to rape her.”

The victim said: “I don’t remember leaving Cruise or anything outside. The next thing I remember is waking up in hospital.”

In cross-examination today (Friday) Deborah Gould, defending, said the victim had been seen kissing three different men during the course of the evening.

The victim said they were all men she knew well and she did not have a boyfriend at the time of the incident but was in a casual relationship with a man who is now her boyfriend.

Miss Gould said there were several statements saying the woman had said from the outset she had not been raped.

The victim said if she did it was probably because she was ashamed or embarrassed.

Miss Gould suggested the woman came up with a different account of rape because she did not want to accept her behaviour was out of character.

The victim said: “If I thought he hadn’t raped me I wouldn’t be here.”